13 March 2011

I met my first Pagan, a young Odinist, at a Nationalist meeting 12 years ago in a Pimlico pub across the river from MI6 headquarters. A public school and Oxbridge graduate, he was clad in an old Barbour jacket, brown check shirt, slate cords, yellow paisley cravat, and brown brogues, with a short back-and-sides haircut straight out of 1930s British Lion casting. In other words, not at all what I had expected. We chatted a bit. A Roman Catholic from birth, I found the chap's views highly intriguing. At the time I was growing frustrated with modern Christianity, or what remained of it. Christian men struck me as weak, emotional, and effeminate. The modern Church's focus had shifted from the spiritual to the material; from saving man's soul, to raising the income level of the Third World by whatever means necessary. Abrahamic injunctions against certain behaviours involving food and sex seemed pointless, an absurd "No-saying" to life at odds with the European soul. Christianity's universal tenets of tolerance and pacifism, I perceived, are inadequate to defend a fractured West beset by worsening cultural clashes and civilisational threats. Today modern Christianity has been supplanted by a hegemonic liberalism attracting its own brand of intolerant, murderous zealot. Infected, compromised, and deformed by Judaic-nonsense, it is hell-bent on leading the West down a path of self-destruction and oblivion. But I am getting ahead of myself here. Do not be alarmed. I remain at best a cultural Roman Catholic--more Roman than Catholic at this point--with undiminished loyalty. I observe around me confused, helpless, rootless, deracinated individuals, who don't know what they don't know, who lack confidence because they lack identity. And that is the heart of the issue. For them and for us, I prescribe a radical return.

14 comments:

"That is to say that paganism, far from being characterized by a denial of spirituality or a rejection of the sacred, consists on the contrary in the choice (and the reappropriation) of another spirituality, of another form of the sacred. Far from being confounded with atheism or agnosticism, it interposes, between man and the universe, a fundamentally religious relationship, which in its spiritual quality seems to us much more intense, more serious, stronger than what Judeo-Christian monotheism can lay claim to. Far from desacralizing the world, it sacralizes it in the literal sense of the term, since it regards it as sacred, and it is precisely therein that it is pagan. Thus, as Jean Markale writes, “paganism is not the absence of God, the absence of the sacred, the absence of ritual. Quite the contrary, it is the solemn affirmation of transcendence, which begins with the recognition that the sacred no longer resides in Christianity. Europe is never more pagan than when she searches for her roots, which are not Judeo-Christian.”

Admiral, I have long thought modern day Christianity to be shallow and complacent. While it is hard to be good to other people and do good in the world if one doesn't feel good about oneself, Christian concordat on what enables self-worth is warped and distorted. Self-sacrifice and discipline have been replaced by materialism and permissiveness. Christian doctrines have long been subjected to coercion and reinterpretation to whatever fits prevailing mores and aspirations. The idea of a belief system altogether more pansophical and immutable is intriguing and to me, appealing.

I too was raised Roman Catholic. Through private school and various church goings, I came to the realization that Christianity is just too "frilly" and soft. Pacifism, egalitarianism, "let anyone in" attitude, love everyone, and the worship of meekness is just ridiculous to me.

It is key to bear in mind that paganism is not a synonym for all that is virile and profound and Christianity bears a similiar non-relation to the concepts of softness and shallowness. This can be demonstrated through various perspectives - the first coming to mind being historical. To write about pitfalls into which Christianity has stumbled in our contemporary era is a nearly inexhaustible topic (your perspective, Admiral, would make for an appreciable read) however it is a gross error to think paganism would have avoided the same mishaps or will heal our modern woes.

Verily, we have not left the Church, the Church has left us. My own, the moribund, effete Episcopal Church is led by professional do gooders and pansexual bishops and priests who lead the faithful in the downward toilet swirl.

There is really no hope until they hit bottom and we can begin again. For Episcopalians who care, the whole tragedy can be followed ondaily on virtueonline.

I like when the blogger posts his original thinking rather than excerpting books and articles, even though the excerpts say a lot about the author. I thought the proper Englishman was quite devoted to the Church -I am intrigued to learn the blogger considers religious people to be especially weak-hearted.. this was like the time I was surprised to read the blogger doesn't approve of Margaret Thatcher, I thought all non-liberals supported her as a kind of British Ronald Reagen equivalent...

I must say that I am enjoying reading your posts between food, and messes and holding my girls. Truly, I'm surprised by your claim to catholicism, but that is being judgemental on my part. Since you are part of the Catholic/Christian culture, what have you done in reference to saving lost souls? Just curious. It is easy to point fingers, but you should make sure YOUR hands are clean first.